In today's highly wired and connected computing environments, networks are often taken for granted by end-users. Yet, heterogeneous networks are often seamlessly and transparently interconnected and made available to the end-users. It is only when a network fails or is degraded that the end-users take notice of the importance associated with having efficient networks.
A network can be configured in many different manners. A Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of computing devices that share a common communications line. Computing and storage resources can be shared within a LAN. Moreover, a LAN can be as small as a few computing devices or as large as an entire enterprise (e.g., office building, office complex, and the like). Another network configuration is a Wide Area Network (WAN). A WAN is a geographically dispersed telecommunications network. A classic example of a well known WAN is the Internet. A third network configuration is a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), where computing devices are connected in a geographic region or specific area that is larger than a LAN and smaller than the typical WAN. Also, in recent years a new type of Virtual Private Network (VPN) has emerged in the industry. A VPN is a private network that takes advantage of public telecommunications and maintains privacy through use of tunneling protocols and security procedures.
Moreover, networks can be characterized by the type of data transmission technology in use on the networks (e.g., Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), and others). Furthermore, the type of data (e.g., voice versus data) that a network can carry can also distinguish the network. Networks are also classified as public or private, by the usual connection techniques used to access the networks (e.g., switched, dial-up, non-switched, dedicated, virtual, and the like), and by the type of physical links used to interface on the networks (fibre optic, coaxial cable, untwisted shielded pair, and the like).
Networks of different types can be interconnected through the use of backbones. A backbone is generally a larger transmission line that carries data gathered from smaller lines that interconnect with it. For example, a LAN may use a backbone to connect with a WAN or to span distances within a single LAN. Further, a WAN may use a backbone as a set of paths that local or regional networks connect to for long-distance interconnections.
When networks are interfaced with one another a number of issues arise. One such issue is how to properly route a received data packet between the networks, since each network may be associated with a different media transmission (e.g., Gigabit Ethernet (GigE), Frame Relay (FR), Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), and others) and/or a different local data packet-addressing schemes or requirements. Another issue is how to maintain data packet throughput at the point where networks are interfaced with one another. For example, the data packet routing can quickly become a bottleneck in the performance of the network if conversion between disparate media transmissions or addressing schemes is not efficient, especially when a high volume of network traffic is occurring at the point where networks are interfaced together.
Accordingly, a number of software and/or hardware solutions have sought to increase network traffic throughput at the point where networks are interfaced together. Some of these solutions include routers that determine the next network point that a data packet should be forwarded to within a plurality of networks. Similarly, gateways act as network node that serves as an entrance into another network. Additionally, proxy servers and firewalls act as intermediaries between network connections. Hub devices and bridge devices are also used to collect and route data packets between networks.
Networks desiring better security and increased throughput of operation will often dedicate computing resources to house, process, and interconnect external and internal network connections. These computing resources use the solutions discussed above (e.g., routers, gateways, firewalls, proxy servers, hub devices, bridge devices and the like). Moreover, often a plurality of solutions is deployed within the dedicated computing resources.
Some networks that receive a high volume of network traffic often deploy or have computing devices custom developed and installed within the networks to increase operational throughput. For example, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can have a large number of dedicated and custom developed hardware and software resources to process and route network traffic within the ISP's network. One such hardware and software resource is a high-density server or a blade server that includes physical network interface modules that receive packets from a network. The blade server also includes a switching fabric that passes any received network data packet along to a processing resource within the blade server. The processing resource then properly translates, routes, and/or forwards the received network packet to its destination. In some cases, the destination can be another processing resource within the system.
Conventionally, the dedicated hardware and software resources are hardwired or statically coded by vendors to meet the needs of a particular customer. Yet, when network traffic patterns for a customer's network change (e.g., decreases or increases), the customer cannot efficiently configure the dedicated hardware and software resources provided by the vendors. As a result, to solve network traffic problems, customers purchase additional hardware and software resources to better meet their then-existing needs. As one of ordinary skill in the art readily appreciates, this is inefficient since many times existing hardware and software resources may be underutilized by the customer in another area of the customer's network.
Therefore, there is a need for techniques that provide improved custom configurations of hardware and software resources, which are used to facilitate the throughput and to load balance network traffic.